Sunday, July 24, 2011

Heat wave

The last week has been extremely hot. From what I can see on the weather channels, a big part of the country has been locked in, in this extended heat period. Quite amazing and unusual if you ask me. But what do I know. I do know that the climate change deniers aren’t quite up to speed on what’s going on. Enough said.

With this heat it’s limited how much gets done outside. I did manage to get a couple of dump runs in early yesterday morning, and got rid of one big brush pile. There’s still a couple to go, but I’ll probably leave them for when the weather gets cooler. Will leave a small pile for critters to burrow in. They just love them, and I think it’s important to maintain somewhat of a natural habitat for them.

Yesterday we made a trip to Tractor Supply, to check out some fencing options. The fenced in area by the barn can be expanded with about 350 feet or so, and we had been looking at various options. I had been thinking about getting the cattle panels, as they’re sturdy and easy to work with, but had all but discarded that plan because I thought it would be too expensive. Well we were pleasantly surprised when checking them out at Tractor Supply. The price was MUCH lower than I had thought. At least the kind we were looking at, which is just basic 4 ft feedlot cattle panels. 20 of those, and we’re good to go. Apparently they’re easy to fold and not a problem to get on the truck. Can’t quite picture that, but the guy at the store said they load them without problems all the time. I thought maybe we needed to have them delivered. 16ft long on the truck would be hazardous the way I was picturing it.
I can’t wait to get them up. The new area has lots of trees and much more shaded, so will be good now during the summer.

The boys doesn’t seem to be too bothered in the heat. I hose them down morning and night, and have a couple of fans going for them. Most of the day they spend inside actually. I guess it’s a little cooler inside believe it or not, and they have the fans.
I’ve expanded the fenced in area for the chicks as well, into more wooded area with more shade. They seem to enjoy it, and spend most of their time there during the day.
These are some strange chicks. I dug up some worms the other day, to give them as a treat. Can you believe they were not interested? WTF?! It’s the first time I’ve had chicks that didn’t go stir crazy over worms. Beyond me. I’m waiting for them to start laying soon. Could be just a couple of weeks away now. On some of them, the waddles and combs have started turning red, so they should be getting there.

Other projects on the list today is trying to take pictures of some of the fiber for sale. It’s always hard to get good representative pictures of the fiber, to show exact color etc.

As I sit here, outside, I think I can hear some raindrops? Can it be? It looks like it could rain, and it would be so nice if it did. YES! We have some big drops coming. Far and few between, but let’s hope they increase.